The human anatomy includes many articulating portions. For example, the femur and tibia form the knee of the human anatomy and articulate to allow ease of walking and mobility. Nevertheless, over time, disease and injury may deteriorate the knee joint, such that articulation of the joint becomes painful or impractical. When such deformities or injuries occur, anatomical replacements, particularly implants and prosthetics, can be placed in the femur or the tibia, or both to replace the damaged portions and restore the natural articulation of the knee.
Due to injury or disease, however, replacing only the articulating portions is not always practical or possible. Particularly, if certain tissues such as ligaments, tendons, or muscle are not able to withstand natural anatomical strains, the knee prosthetic required may need to constrain or stabilize the knee. Specifically, ligaments, such as the anterior cruciate ligament or the posterior cruciate ligament, may no longer be able to withstand the natural stresses, due to walking or other activities, and may be compensated for with a prosthetic knee.
One exemplary component to replace such ligaments, or general weakening of the soft tissue, is a posterior stabilized knee prosthetic. For example, the posterior stabilized knee prosthetic may include a post, particularly a posterior stabilized (PS) post, which extends superiorly from a tibial component to operably engage a femoral component, or the femur, to constrain posterior movement of the knee, which is not otherwise able to be constrained by the remaining soft tissues. Generally, the PS post is a fixed portion of the tibial component and simply extends from the tibial component to operably engage a portion of the femur to constrain selected movement of the femur.